This is awful ...

Someone somewhere mentioned the aforementioned and now I am almost
going mad for some.

And please take note that I live in the UK, where catfish and canned
pumpkin (if required) are NOT readily available.

(I am still trying to source my last request for a cuisinary
delicacy.)

I think I am about to collapse from malnutrition.

Oh boy...I'm gonna get my keister kicked all over town for this...

I will be bad, and share my "recipe" with you, but with a caveat: 
it's not a strictly measured recipe.  I learned the art of cheescake
from my great-grandmother (who's sherry cheesecake was utterly
wicked), and her method was "dump it all in the bowl.  It'll turn
out."

With that in mind, and understanding that you'll need to taste a lot
as you go:

For the crust:

2 packages chocolate covered graham crackers, thoroughly smashed (pick
your favorite, most decadent brand).  They should be fine and crumbly,
with no large bits.  A food processor works well for this if you do
them in small batches.

Press these HARD into the bottom of your springform pan. With a
typical graham cracker crust, you have to add butter to get the crumbs
to stick together.  Not so with this one, the chocolate will do all
the work. Dust with cocoa (I prefer Ghirardelli ground chocolate), and
sprinkle liberally with shaved dark chocolate.  Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

Start with three eggs, beaten. To this add (in order, beating as you
go):

-- about 1 cup sugar
-- about 2/3 cup BREAKSTONES sour cream (if Breakstones isn't
available in the UK, choose the one known for being extra thick and
rich)
at least 5 packages softened cream cheese (6 for a denser cake)

NOTE:  In the US, cream cheese comes in 8oz packages.  It works out to
2 pounds for a regular cheesecake, 2.5 pounds for a denser one.

-- melted, cooled chocolate, to taste 

I usually use a blend of Valrhona, Ghirardelli and Scharffenberger -
about a pound, total.  Valrhona ought to be pretty easy to come by in
Rightpondia, seeing that its French.  Both Scharffenberger and
Ghirardelli are made in Northern California (Berkeley and San
Francisco, respectively), but can be purchased online if you really
want to try them.  If memory serves, however, there is no shortage of
good chocolate to play with in Rightpondia.  Just DON'T use Cadbury's
Flake.  The texture will be funky, and it will ruin the cheesecake.

-- Chambord (a raspberry liquer) to taste.  If you can't find
Chambord, use your favorite raspberry liquer or syrup, and make sure
to taste, taste, taste.

Pour the batter into the springform, tap out the air bubbles, and bake
it 400F for 15 minutes, then 300F until the top of the cheesecake
starts to turn golden.

NOTE:  You silly people over in Rightpondia have odd temperature
scales.  Fortunately, I still have the conversion chart for the online
cookbook my sister and I used to maintain:

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.

8 ounces = 1 cup = 226.8 grams = 236.6 milliliters

300F = 150C

325F = 160C

350F = 180C

375F = 190C

400F = 200C

(For every 25 degrees F thereafter, add 10 degrees C).

Shut the oven off, and leave the door closed for another hour. Bring
it to room temperature, then stick it in the fridge overnight.

Friends beg often for this cheesecake or one of several variants (for
instance, you can substitute Frangelico for the Chambord and add
chopped hazelnuts, or use white chocolate instead of the dark and
substitute KeKe (a key lime liquer) for Chambord to make a refreshing
key lime cheesecake), so the springform pans in my kitchen get quite a
workout.

WARNING:  recipe mistress takes no responsibility whatsoever for any
extra pounds gained as a result of overindulging in this cheesecake. 
Yer on yer own, bub.

Happy baking!

--Missy

P.S:  Researcher Jem says she has recommendations for UK product
brands, which she will pass along later when she's not otherwise
occupied.

Oh dear, Missy, this sounds awfully delicious.

I only wish that I knew what 'Graham Crackers', 'Chambard', 'Keke' and
'Springform' were.

Maybe that little gem, Jem, will enlighten me soon.

I do hope so, because I don't think that I'm going to last much
longer.

And, what's this I hear about you not answering a $200 Question
(241465)??

I hope that you have not been counting on getting some Nigerian $$$
from somewhere?

Kindest regards

Bryan

Hi Bryan :)

UK spin on Missy SUPERB recipe (I used Missy's recipe yesterday and
found that the following substitutes worked just fine):

1. Springform tin - essential for forming the crust.  The idea is that
you "clip" the circumference of the tin tightly around the base of the
pan to help hold the crust together.  When you're ready to serve the
cheesecake, you unclip the tin and serve the cake from the base.  I
get mine from John Lewis:

http://www.johnlewis.com/corp/msearch/msearch.asp?qu=springform&menuHiLite=0&noHierMenuRoot=y&tabId=01&x=6&y=5

but I think the larger Woolies will also stock them.  I use mine
non-stop in the run up to Xmas for booze laden Xmas cakes (I make them
about 3 months in advance so that the fruit really has a chance to
ferment in the booze).

2. Graham crackers are really hard to find here - I once found them at
Jerry's Home Store, a chain that specialises in American stuff like
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Oreo cookies
(http://www.jerryshomestore.com/) but they don't seem to carry them
all the time.  A perfectly acceptable substitute for chocolate covered
graham crackers is chocolate covered Hob Nobs, which bind particularly
well with the butter.

3. Sour cream - I found Tesco's Fresh Soured Cream worked really well
in this recipe.  Make sure it's the full fat version (!) as the lower
fat versions contain too much water and you therefore won't get the
key texture and consistency.

4. I didn't have Chambord Liqueur to hand (you can get it at larger
Odd Bins, they usually stock the Royale Deluxe version) but found that
Kirsch liqueur worked beautifully (available at Sainsburys, Tescos,
Odd Bins, etc.) You can substitute lime cordial for the KeKe or choose
from about 3 or 4 varieties of lime liqueur that the larger Odd Bins
stock.

5. Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese comes in 200g packs which is about
7 ounces -6 packs worked fine for me.  Again, make sure you get the
full fat version (not the light version) or else you won't get the
texture and density that you're after.

Enjoy!

:)jem

Ah, cheesecake.  A subject of some fondness.  :)

I have found in my own ventures that it's nice to have surprises in
the cheesecake.  I will frequently layer some raspberries and/or
melted raspberry preserves on top of the crust, but before the filling
(you can brush the crust with egg whites to keep it from getting too
soggy).

Another lovely thing is to make a "bark" of sorts - melted chocolate,
with some preserves and fresh raspberries and maybe even some Chambord
mixed together, then cut the bark up once it hardens and stir it into
the batter before baking.

I don't have a specific recipe, I just like to play with it.

Watch out, Bryan: I gained weight just reading the recipe. ;-)

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE
http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=1162&action=filtersearch&filter=recipe-filter.hts&collection=Recipes&ResultTemplate=recipe-results.hts&queryType=and&keyword=Chocolate+Raspberry+Cheesecake+&x=12&y=14



JF

wow! u don't have graham crackers in the uk??  well, how do u make s'mores??!

S'mores?

Never heard of them.

But I can feel another dinner invite in the offing.

Many thanks, Jem, you are 1000 carat.

(Possibly more ... but I would have to put you on the scales and under
the microscope for a more accurate valuation.)

Hi Bryan :)

S'mores are yummy!  I first had them when visiting a friend who was at
college in New England - they had midnight s'mores raids.  They are
basically comprised of melted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched
between graham crackers.  There are varying recipes (e.g. just
marshmallow, no chocolate, etc) but the basic construct is as above!

See: http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e07_smores/smoreintro.html

:) jem-ga

Oh, Jem ...

Many thanks for enlightening me about s'mores.

I sense another dinner invite arriving ... this time from you.

(you are now 2000 carat subject to blah, blah, blah.)

Bryan